1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data communication apparatus, and more particularly to a data communication apparatus which receives data from a relay requesting station and transmits the received data to partners designated by the relay requesting station or to predetermined partners.
2. Related Background Art
As an apparatus of this type, there is known a facsimile apparatus which relays image data to another facsimile apparatus. The relay operation of a conventional facsimile apparatus is schematically shown in FIG. 3.
Referring to FIG. 3, symbol T represents a relay requesting station which executes a predetermined communication protocol and requests a relay station I (both are facsimile apparatus) to call desired multi-address partners. Image data to be relayed is transmitted at the same time to the relay station.
Sequentially in accordance with the control information received from the relay requesting station T, the relay station I transmits the image data to a plurality of relayed multi-address call partners (facsimile apparatus). The relay information to be transmitted is stored in an image memory.
A conventional facsimile apparatus at the relay station I further transmits a relay report to the relay requesting station T as illustrated at the right side of FIG. 3.
Specifically, the relay station I stores the communication results of the plurality of relayed multi-address call partners, and after all relay operations have been completed, edits the communication results as image data and sends it to the relay requesting station.
This relay report is drawn by developing character codes into image data by using a character generator or the like, and transmitted to the relay requesting station T using the similar communication protocol for ordinary image data.
A request for a relay can be executed so long as a facsimile apparatus can transmit data to the relay station. Such a relay request is made between facsimile apparatus not only within one country but also between different foreign countries.
The relay report to be transmitted to the relay requesting station after completion of relayed multi-address calls has been written in the language the relay station uses irrespective of the language the relay requesting station uses. For instance, most of facsimile apparatus used in Japan use the Japanese language in transmitting a relay report and other messages. Therefore, even if a relay is requested from a foreign country, a relay report written in the Japanese language is transmitted to the foreign country relay requesting station.
Relay transmission for transmitting received data to another partner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,355 and U.S. Ser. Nos. 442,721 (filed on Nov. 29, 1989) and 451,185 (filed on Dec. 15, 1989). None of them has proposed any measure to solve such a problem.